She really is the whole sporty package - what with her working out for two hours a day, having her own fitness empire, and sculpting THAT bod

It wasn't going to be long before fitness fanatic and all-round hot-piece Lucy Mecklenburgh was snapped up as the face of a sports brand.

She really is the whole sporty package - what with her working out for two hours a day, having her own fitness empire, and sculpting THAT bod.

And fitness giants Ellesse have snaffled the former TOWIE star up as the face of their forthcoming Body/Works campaign.

In the promo snaps, the super-toned 22-year-old
shows off her flawless figure in a number of skimpy sporty outfits. Lucy Meckleburgh relaxes in a hanging chair

In the first snap, Lucy can be seen flaunting her washboard abs in a pink crop top and grey shorts,

In another, the trim and tanned babe shows off her enviable pins as she reclines in a hanging chair in a pink two piece.

As well as posing by a window, Lucy can be seen lifting some weights and jogging through a gym.

And all the time, she looks pristine - not like when we work out...

Abs alert

But Lucy admits she's not always been so body confident.

When snaps of her relaxing on holiday in Mexico a year last January appeared online – showing her backside – she was mortified.

“The photos weren’t awful but there was a saggy bum, cellulite – and a few nasty comments underneath,” she says.

At around 9st 7lb, 5ft 6in Lucy was by no means overweight but she admits she felt unhealthy and unfit.

We wish we looked this good in the gym

“I was like ‘Actually, these people are right. I’m not doing anything. I’m not looking after my body. I’m lazy’,” Lucy says.

“I feel really lethargic and I don’t feel nice and I need to exercise. It’s not healthy any more. I can’t keep going like this.”

The shots were the wake-up call she needed and, after returning to the UK, she hit the gym and overhauled her diet so that now Lucy is a svelte 8st 9lb.

She believes diet and exercise are the best way to transform your looks – not cosmetic surgery, as favoured by her former TOWIE co-stars Amy Childs and Chloe Sims. She’s adamant she won’t be going down that route any time soon.

Pretty in pink

“I’m sticking to my guns that at 22 you don’t need Botox and things like that,” she says.

“It is frightening to me just how common plastic surgery is. It’s almost like going to get your nails done. I find it quite upsetting, especially the quick weight-loss surgeries.

“I think actually if you just went to the gym three times a week and ate a bit better and drank a bit more water then you could do that naturally.”